Documentary Production in Finland

MODO Project in Helsinki

◆ In May 2019, eight KU students attending courses at the SMC flew over to Helsinki, Finland, to produce mobile documentaries regarding gender-related issues in Finland. During the week-long project, students from the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (HMUAS) and Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS) also participated as staff assisting KU students. Professors from HMUAS, TUAS, and KU SMC (Prof. Dong Hoon Ma and Prof. Ji Hoon Park) participated as mentors. The expenses of the Korean participants in Project MODO (an abbreviation of “mobile documentary”) were covered by the Finnish government.

◆ During the orientation on the first day at HMUAS, KU students presented their project synopses and received feedback from the professors and students of the Finnish universities. Thereafter, they worked alongside local staff during filming and editing, whereas the SMC faculty took on the role of mentors and provided feedback during the filming, storytelling, and editing processes. On the final day, the KU students presented their works to the participants, followed by a Finnish-style dinner and socializing.

◆ SMC professors, with their counterparts from HMUAS and TUAS, visited YLE, the Finnish public broadcasting station, and discussed the possibility of broadcasting some MODO projects to audiences from Finland and other European countries through the YLE online platform. An agreement was reached to broadcast selected documentaries in the near future.

◆ In June 2019, eight completed mobile documentaries were screened to KU audiences at Cinema Trap in the Media Hall.

◆ Due to the contract with the Finnish broadcasting station, the completed works are not available for public viewing thus far. However, a video of the orientation and presentation in Helsinki can be viewed through the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbw8mwb4YN8

MODO Project in Seoul

◆ In October 2018, 12 college students from Finland and two professors from HMUAS (Prof. Teija Voudinm and Prof. Kai Ansio) visited KU SMC for eight days and produced mobile documentaries regarding gender-related issues in Korea.

◆ During the second semester of 2017, SMC faculty had met with faculty from HMUAS and TUAS and agreed to conduct a student exchange program to produce mobile documentaries regarding gender-related issues in both countries by using mobile phones.

◆ Finnish students filmed and edited their documentaries in Seoul city and Gyeonggi province. During this time, students partaking in the Documentary Production course at SMC participated as staff assisting their Finnish counterparts. Professors from SMC also participated as mentors. The completed documentaries were screened at Cinema Trap in the Media Hall, followed by a heated discussion and group dinner.

◆ The completed documentaries by the Finnish students can be accessed through the following link: